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Presented By: Maize Pages Student Organizations

Michigan’s Online Court Project: Improving Access, Accuracy, and Fairness

Courts are designed to help members of society resolve outstanding disputes in a fair and efficient manner. Yet, as the daily news and common experience make plain, courts remain surprisingly difficult, expensive, and time-consuming to use. Even for the most minor of issues (which is most of what courts do), accessing our justice system invariably requires an in-person, face-to-face interaction with the right person, under the right conditions, with the right documents, during business hours, often after waiting in an hours-long line. The people who suffer most as a result of this outmoded approach are those who can least afford it. Even for trivial issues, physically going to court requires taking time off of work. For hourly workers, this is expensive, perhaps prohibitively so. For many others, taking time off to address an issue isn't even possible, not without risking their jobs. Moreover, if the issue involved is confusing, or if money is due, many understandably fear what might happen to them if they do find a way to get to court (e.g., arrest). Confusion and fear are two of the reasons there are tens of millions of outstanding warrants for minor issues in the United States. Michigan’s Online Court Project has partnered with several state courts to allow citizens to resolve certain tickets and violations, warrants, outstanding fines, and missed court dates online, on their own time, working directly with judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement to reach mutually satisfying resolutions. This is no "rubber stamp" reform; in fact, the technology can improve decision making, making outcomes more accurate and fair. If done right, implementing cutting-edge, Internet-based technologies in our courts has the potential to dramatically enhance access to justice for all citizens, especially those long left out in the cold. 

Co-Sponsored By

  • Student Organization: Information Alliance for Community Development

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